De Gea - Chelsea save was key

David de Gea has pinpointed the key moment that turned around his debut season with Manchester United.

Last Updated: 20/04/12 10:04am

David de Gea: Has highlighted his save at Chelsea as a pivotal moment in his season

David de Gea has pinpointed the key moment that turned around his debut season with Manchester United.

The 21-year-old endured a difficult start to his United career but produced an astonishing last-minute stop to deny Chelsea's Juan Mata a winning goal at Stamford Bridge in February.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men went on to win their next eight Premier League games as the defending champions marched to the top of the league.

And De Gea is not underestimating its importance to his Red Devils career.

"When you look back over a season there are lots of defining moments and key goals," said De Gea.

"But, I suppose, from a team point of view, and particularly from a personal point of view, the fact the save was right in the last minute was decisive.

"Possibly it gave me a huge confidence boost as well. From a personal perspective that was important."

Aggressive

The former Atletico Madrid stopper made a disappointing start to his time at United and the question marks remained after the turn of the year with De Gea putting in a below-par display against Liverpool in the week prior to that Chelsea game.

But the Spaniard's improvement has been marked since then and the player admits he was forced to bulk up for the Premier League after enjoying success in La Liga.

"Football-wise there are not too many differences," he added. "The style is not too dissimilar although it is maybe slightly more aggressive in this country."

"People are aware I have been trying to gain a little bit of weight in terms of muscle, maybe an odd kilo to bulk up a little bit.

"But the concentration levels are the same. You can't let your concentration levels drop for a second. So football-wise it is not so different."